Move away from the reactive to high-value improvements

The final in the "From the Coal Face" 5-part series, this session shares how to convert operational insight and candid reflection into practical improvement priorities.

In a fireside chat format, we'll hear from an experienced ex-auditor who has worked for the regulator at both national and state levels. Further, our guest speaker is a former RTO and CRICOS owner and a current specialist VET Sector Consultant - which means we'll get insights from all angles.


Topics to be covered

  • Moving from reactive correction to structured improvement
  • Identifying high-value operational fixes
  • Building continuous improvement rhythms that work
  • Strengthening accountability without creating noise


Reality checks 

  • Continuous improvement is not only a list of cosmetic changes
  • Action plans without ownership do not shift practice
  • The best improvements are often operationally simple but culturally hard
  • Real improvement begins when organisations stop defending hypotheticals



Register for this session separately or as part of the

5 session bundle ‘From the Coal Face'



About the series

From the Coal Face - A fireside chat with an ex-ASQA auditor and consultant: Home truths about capability, compliance and what really happens

This five-session series has been designed to provide practical, experience-based insight into the operational realities of running a quality RTO. 

Led as moderated "fireside chats" with an ex-ASQA auditor, former RTO and CRICOS owner, and experienced consultant, the series moves beyond theory and explores what actually happens in practice: what holds up, what falls away, and what the sector can learn from the gap between policy intent and operational reality. 

Designed to be candid, constructive and grounded, the program offers practical reflection for providers seeking stronger systems, clearer assurance, better outcomes and meaningful improvement. Rather than relying on provider fear or audit mythology, the series offers discussion based on authentic insights, useful reflection, and constructive “reality checks” that use experiences (stories) to help participants test assumptions, strengthen capability, and focus on what matters most.

From the Coal Face is a series for people who want straight-talking insight into how compliance, capability, evidence, delivery, and governance intersect in real RTO operations.

RTO leaders, teams and regulators who want to move beyond surface compliance and better understand what operational capability really looks like in practice will benefit from the series.

By the end of this series, participants should be better able to:

  • Distinguish between documented compliance and operational capability
  • Identify common assumptions and “mistruths” that weaken performance
  • Recognise early operational signals that indicate system strength or fragility
  • Better understand how delivery, evidence, leadership and oversight are tested in practice
  • Apply practical insights to strengthen continuous improvement and operational confidence


From the Coal Face will offer the following benefits:

  • Honest operational insights from an experienced sector perspective
  • Practical discussion rather than abstract compliance commentary
  • A clearer understanding of how capability shows up in practice
  • Improved confidence in identifying operational strengths and weaknesses
  • Useful prompts for internal review, discussion and improvement planning


Register for the series:

5 session bundle ‘From the Coal Face'

On the Coal Face

This series is built on real experience and insights from decades of actual involvement with:

  • Owning an RTO and CRICOS provider
  • Senior consultancy within the VET sector - helping other RTOs establish and maintain quality systems and processes
  • Auditing environments - on both sides of the audit table! Representing RTO clients as well as performing audits for VET regulators
  • Creating best-practice quality system frameworks and training and assessment materials


Who we'll hear from

Jane Grosvenor
Karen Grogan
Ian Whitehouse

Jane is first and foremost an educator. Her early career was in secondary education, working in public and private schools, in both urban and rural communities. Then came a period as a business owner, before returning to education as a VET and careers consultant working, initially, to support VET and careers practitioners in the independent school sector.

The last fifteen years has seen an increasing focus on work in the broader VET sector helping private RTOs with business development, initial applications for registration, assessment (audit) responses, appealing assessment outcomes and creating education, training and assessment resources. 

Jane is passionate about the future of VET in Australia and the need for a more balanced and holistic approach to education, training and assessment and to the role of the Regulator in assuring positive outcomes for students, educators, RTOs and the sector generally.

Dr Karen Grogan is an education leader, consultant and researcher with extensive experience across the vocational education and training (VET), higher education (HE), public and not-for-profit sectors.

Beginning her career in human services and public health, Karen has held senior executive roles within South Australia, including responsibility for statewide child and youth health services. She later moved into correctional education, where she was responsible for prisoner education and vocational training across South Australia's prison system, before moving into senior roles across the VET and higher education sectors.

Karen currently works in higher education as Director, Quality Assurance and Risk Management, lectures in leadership and management, and consults to VET providers. Her expertise includes governance, quality assurance, risk management, compliance and regulatory reform.

Karen is also an active researcher, learning designer and writer with particular interests in management, governance, regulatory design and the long-term sustainability of the VET sector. She has developed learning and assessment resources across a broad range of qualifications and disciplines in both the VET and higher education sectors.

Ian started as a sessional trainer training “software tools” at Tafe Tasmania (now called TasTAFE) in 1990 and continued to work as a sessional teacher until about 2004.

Between then and now, his other, notable achievements include:


• Responsible for transitioning the Department of Education RTO from CBT to AQTF

• Won and led a number of Australian Flexible Learning projects and selections

• Led the accreditation process for the Certificate III and IV in Teacher Aide qualifications, now consumed within the national training product

• Setup and owned (with three others) an RTO which was also a CRICOS organisation for part of its time

• Sessional Masters lecturer at UTAS in Information Systems and Computing and for the Faculty of Education for about 10 years

• Worked part time with the Tasmanian Qualification Authority as an auditor (RTO and CRICOS) and the course accreditation officer for Tasmanian-based registrations

• Was Tasmanian Regional Manager Compliance ASQA and led two strategic reviews reporting to the Chief Commissioner

• Panel assessor for the last 4 years for ASQA

• For the past 8 years, teaches Diploma of TAE to maintain currency

• Conducts a business advisory service contract via the State Government of Tasmania

• Conducted audit work for Tourism, ICT and Aquaculture (to the State Veterinary Officer)

• Designed, developed and deployed QMS, LCMS, Compliance cloud-based solutions


Ian works as a VET and HE consultant since leaving ASQA.

The series will be moderated by Michelle Charlton

Qualified, skilled and committed to professional development

Enroll today